


just another friday night

by the_problem_with_stardust



Category: Marvel
Genre: Archery, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Don’t copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Valentine's Day, they're doing their best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_problem_with_stardust/pseuds/the_problem_with_stardust
Summary: “Is this a date?” Bucky asked.Clint blinked. Then sat back in his seat. He opened his mouth. Then he closed it.“I don’t think so?” he managed eventually, not sounding convinced.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 148
Collections: Winterhawk Valentine's Day 2020 Blind Date Exchange





	just another friday night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LoonyLoopyLisa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoonyLoopyLisa/gifts).



> This was written for @loonyloopylisa as part of the @blinddatewinterhawkexchange!! I used the prompt "Accidental dating" and had a lot of fun with it!!! Hope you enjoy!!

“Hey Bucky.”

Bucky hummed, attention split between half-assedly running a towel over his head and looking at his Stark phone. For some reason, Clint kept sending him videos of puppies. The puppies didn’t really do anything except sit and look cute, but watching them made Bucky feel weirdly warm and fuzzy inside.

“Bucky,” Steve repeated, sounding exasperated.

Sighing, Bucky set down his phone and slung the damp towel into the laundry bin across the room. “What’s up?”

Steve stared at him for a moment. “You’ve been spending too much time around teenagers.”

That was… probably true. After moving into the tower, Bucky needed something to keep himself occupied. So, when Clint made an off-handed comment about wishing he had an extra pair of hands at the archery range, Bucky volunteered with a readiness that surprised them both.

It wasn’t like he did much, just helped set up before lessons and ran conditioning sessions for the more serious kids. And he held a monthly arm-wrestling tournament with some of the older students. Sometimes, he’d let Clint do trick shots while standing on his shoulders. Occasionally he swept the floors.

Maybe he _was_ spending too much time with teenagers.

“I wanted to know if you were okay on your own tonight,” Steve said, flopping down beside him on the couch.

Bucky frowned. “Yeah?”

After spending the first few decades of his life looking out for Steve, having the roles reversed always sent him for a loop. Steve had always been overprotective but becoming Captain America had made him into a bit of a mother hen.

“Okay,” Steve nodded to himself, “Right, just making sure.”

The nervous set of Steve’s shoulders had Bucky immediately on edge.

“What’s going on, Stevie?” he asked.

Steve sighed. “It’s Sam.”

Bucky’s frown deepened into what Tony would call his ‘murder glare.’

“Not anything bad,” Steve assured him, “just, I’ve never done Valentine’s Day with someone special before.”

“If you want relationship advice, I am _not_ the person to talk to.” Bucky pulled his feet up onto the couch. “But Sam already likes you and wants to spend time with you.”

Steve gave a half-hearted shrug and Bucky groaned.

“Go and have a disgustingly romantic night with your boyfriend. I’ll be too busy to miss you anyway.”

“Too busy doing what?” Steve asked.

“Clint wanted to try that new place on Broadway.”

It looked a lot nicer than their usual hole-in-the-wall pizza place, but that didn’t necessarily mean the food was any good. If Bucky had learned one thing from hanging around Tony, it was that cost and taste didn’t always correlate.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “That sounds an awful lot like a date, Buck.”

“It’s Friday night,” Bucky said, like that was the obvious explanation. “We work at the range and then go for beers.”

“Sure,” Steve said, his tone more knowing than Bucky liked. He moved to the door. “Who were you texting anyway?”

Bucky launched a pillow at Steve’s retreating back with a petulant, “None of your business.”

Yeah, he was _definitely_ spending too much time around teenagers.

Bucky decided to go through the rest of his day without dwelling on Steve’s comments. Which meant they were pretty much the only thing he could think about.

Maybe it _was_ strange that he picked up coffee from Clint’s favorite shop on his way over. But it wasn’t like it was hard to order a large black coffee alongside his own drink. Plus, the way Clint smiled when he thanked him was nice.

Bucky never really thought about how nice Steve’s smile was though.

Frowning, Bucky juggled the two cups as he knocked at the apartment door. There was nothing wrong with wanting your friends to be happy. And it didn’t have to mean you wanted to date them.

Steve was just seeing things. Had to be.

“Bucky!” Clint shoved open the door, barely holding back Lucky. “My favorite sniper in the whole wide world.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, pushing his way inside. “You only say that because I bring you coffee.”

“I promise that’s not the only reason,” Clint grinned at him over the paper cup he’d already acquired.

Oh no. Bucky felt the heat rising in his face. He was the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier did not blush. Even if a hot guy might be flirting with him.

Wait.

Flirting?

“Hey,” Clint suddenly looked serious. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m great,” Bucky said, cursing Steve and his stupid comments.

Clint didn’t seem convinced, but he took Bucky at his word. Like he always did. “I just gotta grab my bag and we can go.”

“Sounds good.”

Once Clint had vanished back into the bedroom, Bucky firmly put any thoughts about _dating_ and _Clint_ out of his mind.

He was mostly successful.

They split the students by skill level, sending the beginners to Clint for technique and the more advanced students to Bucky for conditioning. There were a few moments when Clint was demonstrating how to properly draw their bows, and Bucky had to remind himself to pay attention to the clock.

Although the kids probably wouldn’t notice going a few seconds longer on their planks.

See, Clint was an attractive guy. Bucky had noticed that when they first met. Then they became friends and it suddenly didn’t matter that Clint was a 6’3” beefcake who could probably bench press Bucky’s whole body.

Because Clint was _nice_. He sent Bucky cute dog videos just because he thought they’d make him smile.

“Hey, Coach Barnes,” someone panted. “Were we doing two minutes or five?”

Bucky looked at the stopwatch.

Shit. 

“You’ve been stuck in your head all day,” Clint said, setting down his menu. “What’s up?”

Bucky picked at the tablecloth. The restaurant was much fancier than anywhere they’d gone before. Clint’s purple archery club t-shirt stuck out among the dress shirts and ties, but any restaurant in town was happy to seat a pair of Avengers.

Even on Valentine’s Day.

“Is this a date?” Bucky asked.

Clint blinked. Then sat back in his seat. He opened his mouth. Then he closed it.

“I don’t think so?” he managed eventually, not sounding convinced.

It wasn’t a harsh rejection, but Bucky still winced. He really shouldn’t let Steve go around putting ideas in his head. Or Clint and his distracting biceps.

“Not that it couldn’t be,” Clint said, sitting forward. “If you want it to be a date then I am one hundred percent on board.”

“I want it to be a date,” Bucky said.

“Cool.” Clint looked like he wanted to smack himself. “I mean, that’s good. Great!”

He sighed and Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn't been able to imagine Clint as anything but himself and was quietly relieved that he didn’t become some smooth talker out of nowhere.

“Do you wanna get out of here?”

Clint looked around at the wine glasses and ostentatious chandelier. “This might be a bit much for a first date.”

“Pizza, beer, and Netflix?” Bucky asked, just like their usual Friday night routine.

“Then taking Lucky to the dog park tomorrow morning?” Clint offered, like he was testing the waters.

Bucky grinned, picking up Clint’s bag and ushering him out of the door. “And breakfast at Stan’s?”

Clint made a face. “Brunch at Stan’s.”

Bucky laughed again, feeling lighter than air. “Fine. Brunch at Stan’s.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello on [tumblr!](https://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com)


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